What divorce entitlements can military spouses receive?

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Divorce entitlements for a military spouse include commissary and exchange privileges plus full medical benefits, About.com notes. The marriage must have lasted at least 20 years, the military spouse must have performed at least 20 years of service that qualified for retirement pay, and there must be at least a 20-year overlap of the military service and the marriage. The benefits are terminated if the spouse remarries, but if that marriage ends in divorce, the benefits are reinstated.

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The Uniformed Services Former Spousal Protection Act governs military pension, About.com notes. This act allows for a payment of a portion of a military retirees pension payment go to a former spouse, and this act also oversees the base privileges.

The act also allows state law to treat disposable retired pay as either property of the military spouse or as property of the military spouse and civilian spouse as outlined by state law. The act has no formula to divide the amount of retired military pay, but up to 50 percent of a military spouse's retirement pay can go to the civilian spouse, About.com notes. State laws determine exactly how the pay is retired, and most state courts have a formula for calculating military pay division.